Crabtree Publishing Company www.crabtreebooks.com Author:Patricia Lantier Photographs and reproductions Editors:Mark Sachner, Lynn Peppas Corbis: Vaningen-Snyder: page 8; Louie Psihoyos: page 10; page Publishing plan research and development: 19; pages 22-23 (center); C.H. Reed: page 38; page 47. 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Harriet Tubman. Galen Frysinger: page 7; page 40. Front cover (bottom): A series of anti-slavery trading cards from Getty Images: page 18; page 25; page 26; page 33 (bottom); Jerry the 1800s, by American artist Henry Louis Stephens. Pictures like Pinkney: page 34; page 48 (top); Don Cravens: page 57. this were used by abolitionists to convince people that slavery The Granger Collection: page 11; page 27; page 55. NASA: page 9. should be stopped. The New York Public Library: page 58. Written, developed, and produced by Water Buffalo Books North Wind Picture Archives: page 15; page 21. Shutterstock: pages 12-13 (background); page 14 (right); page 17; Publisher’s note: All quotations in this book come from original sources and contain pages 30-31 (center); page 39; page 43. the spelling and grammatical inconsistencies of the original text. Superstock: pages 4-5 (center); page 28; page 36 (left); page 51 Some of the quotations may also contain terms that are no longer (bottom). in use and may be considered inappropriate or offensive. The use WestGraphix: page 37. of such terms is for the sake of preserving the historical and literary Wikipedia (public domain): page 6; page 29 (top right); page 29 accuracy of the sources and should not be seen as encouraging or (center left); page 35; page 41; page 53. endorsing the use of such terms today. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Lantier, Patricia, 1952- Lantier, Patricia, 1952- Harriet Tubman : conductor on the Underground Railroad / Harriet Tubman : conductor on the Underground Patricia Lantier. Railroad / Patricia Lantier. p. cm. -- (Voices for freedom. Abolitionist heros) Includes index. (Voices for freedom: abolitionist heros) ISBN 978-0-7787-4838-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-7787-4822-9 Includes index. (reinforced library binding : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-7787-4822-9 (bound).--ISBN 978-0-7787-4838-0 (pbk.) 1. Tubman, Harriet, 1820?-1913--Juvenile literature. 2. Slaves-- United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. 3. African American 1. Tubman, Harriet, 1820?-1913--Juvenile literature. women--Biography--Juvenile literature. 4. Underground 2. Slaves--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. Railroad--Juvenile literature. I. Title. 3. African American women--Biography--Juvenile literature. E444.T82L36 2010 4. Underground Railroad--Juvenile literature. I. Title. 973.7'115092--dc22 II. Series: Voices for freedom: abolitionist heros [B] 2009023633 E444.T897L35 2009 j973.7'115092 C2009-903734-3 Crabtree Publishing Company www.crabtreebooks.com 1-800-387-7650 Copyright © 2010 CRABTREE PUBLISHING COMPANY.All rights reserved. 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St. Catharines, Ontario 350 Fifth Ave., 59th Floor Basin Road North, Hove Ascot Vale (Melbourne) L2M 5V6 New York, NY 10118 BN41 1WR VIC 3032 Contents Chapter One Follow the North Star!.............................4 Chapter Two Growing Up in Slavery ........................12 Chapter Three Flight to Freedom ...............................22 Chapter Four Fearless Conductor on the Underground Railroad........................32 Chapter Five Nurse, Scout, Spy: The Civil War........43 Chapter Six Aftermath and Legacy ...........................51 Chronology .......................................................................59 Glossary ............................................................................60 Further Information ........................................................61 Index..................................................................................63 About the Author.............................................................64 Follow the North Star! H arriet Tubman ran swiftly into the dark night. She was alone, without a path to travel through the dense terrain. She moved as quietly as possible, away from the main road. Harriet’s master would soon realize she was missing and send the overseer with dogs and guns to look for her. Independent patrollers might also be on the lookout for a runaway. Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave from Maryland, became an abolitionist, military spy, and women’s activist. This statue in the South End of Boston honors Tubman in her role as an emancipator of slaves. Working under the cloak of darkness, she led dozens of slaves out of captivity. During the Civil War, in an act of stunning bravery and military leadership, Harriet guided an expedition of Union soldiers on a raid in South Carolina that freed more than 700 slaves. 4 This image shows slave quarters at a plantation in Savannah, Georgia. In addition to working long hours in the fields to produce large crop yields, many slaves worked in small industrial operations on the plantation. If any time was still available, slaves also provided labor for other plantation owners. Determined to Make the Dream Come True Harriet’s long skirt caught on brambles as she ran. She sometimes tripped on branches and other obstacles covering the dark ground. Her heart was pounding, and she could barely catch her breath. She worried a bit about the frequent “sleeping spells” that were a constant part of her life. If she suddenly fell into a deep sleep, she needed to be hidden from view. In spite of her precarious situation, Harriet would not let fear change her purpose. She was physically strong from years of hard labor in the fields. She also was determined to make her dream of freedom come true. Fear of the Unknown Two weeks earlier, Harriet had attempted to escape with two of her brothers, Ben and Henry. All three were working away from their home plantation. When their owner realized the slaves were missing, she posted a notice in the local paper offering money for their capture. 5 Harriet Tubman The brothers did not agree with Harriet about which direction to run. After several days, they were afraid of being caught. They were lost and wanted to go back. Because they had been hired out to work at another plantation, their absence had not been noticed right away, which would reduce the amount of time they had been missed. Also, they were hard workers and hoped that if they provided a believable explanation for their absence, the consequences would not be too severe. Harriet did not want to turn back. She argued with her brothers, but they forced her to return. Eliza Brodess, widow of Edward Brodess, owned Harriet (Minty) and her Ready for Freedom brothers Henry (Harry) Back at work, Harriet heard that her owner had plans to and Ben when they sell her. She decided to leave again. This time she would attempted to escape in 1849. Mrs. Brodess go alone. She wanted to be free, and no one would stop published this notice her. For 27 years, she had been a slave—“hired out,” or of reward in the rented, by her master to strangers. Hiring out meant extra Cambridge Democrat. The notice included money for slave owners, who sometimes did not have the ages and physical enough work for all their slaves. Harriet could no longer descriptions of tolerate the physical threats and mistreatment she had the runaways. faced over the years. Many of the people Harriet had worked for since early childhood were cruel. They rarely provided enough food or clothing and expected her to work long days at intense labor. Some beat Harriet even when she had done nothing wrong. They simply wanted to remind her that 6 Follow the North Star! The Underground Railroad As a child, Harriet Tubman sometimes heard other slaves speak in hushed voices about an Underground Railroad. This mysterious “railroad” provided a way for slaves to escape bondage and live free. Many slaves did not understand how a railroad could be underground. Were there secret tunnels that trains traveled through to go north? This didn’t seem likely, but no one was certain. When Harriet finally made her bid for freedom, she learned that the Underground Railroad was actually a secret network of people and safe houses that provided shelter, food, clothing, and transportation for runaway slaves as they made their way to free states or Canada. Courageous participants in the Historians believe that most escaping Underground Railroad usually left a slaves probably did not have the benefit candle burning in a window of their of the Underground Railroad. It was houses at night. The candle served as particularly prominent in the region known a sign to runaway slaves that they as the Upper South, especially in states that could stop for food and shelter. This bordered the North. Harriet’s experience particular “safe house” is part of a as a slave escaping from Maryland was display at the National Underground probably more typical of that region than Railroad Freedom Center in in the area known as the Lower South, Cincinnati, Ohio. or Deep South. There, in states such as Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi, slave labor played a big part in the growing and harvesting of cotton. Escape from those states was even more difficult than in the Upper South. 7 Harriet Tubman she was their property. She had a family she could visit now and then, but her being able to see them was determined by where they were working at any given time. Life without freedom became unbearable for the young woman. Harriet wanted to Many slaves were beaten frequently, either by their owners or by men escape farther north, to a free state, where she called “overseers” who managed might have some chance at a life of her own. large numbers of plantation slaves. Running away was very dangerous. Harriet This engraving printed in 1864 shows some of the cruel could not take the risk of telling anyone that she punishments slaves had to endure. was leaving again, especially after the recent Often, other slaves were forced to incident with her brothers. She wanted to tell her gather and witness the beatings. mother, but she knew her mother’s grief might draw attention. Unable to tell anyone directly about her plans, she managed to leave a message to friends at the plantation by singing a spiritual that carried a secret message. Running for Her Life As she made her way north, Harriet thought about those she loved and the life of bondage she was leaving behind. She had left everyone she knew, even her husband and other family members she could only see from time to time. She would have to depend on the help of strangers and her own courage in the days ahead. She could not look back or doubt her mission. How could it be right to enslave people? To “own” anyone—to have the power to sell them and beat them and tear apart their families in order to make money—defied explanation. Harriet could not read or write. 8